by James hmv London, 13/06/2014Bio"Like the legend of the Phoenix, I've just eaten a whole packet of chocolate HobNobs..."
Editor, hmv.com

hmv.com reviews… The 1975 @ Bushmills Live

Who?

The 1975, Manchester indie types with a distinctly 80s flavour

Where?

The Cooperage, Old Bushmills Distillery @ Bushmills Live

Was it full? And how were the crowd?

The Cooperage is one of two venue buildings at the Bushmills distillery and although it only has a capacity of 700, it was packed to the rafters for the headliners and the audience was clearly enjoying it. Lots of dancing and grooving, no moshing or crowd-surfing though…

So what was the set like? What did they play?We got 90 minutes out of the Manchester four-piece as they blasted their way through the tracks from their eponymous debut album, including the likes of ‘Chocolate’ and ‘The City’, as well as packing in some material from their Music for Cars EP, including a belting rendition of ‘Me’. They also treated the crowd to an airing of ‘You’ from the Sex EP.

Any good between song banter?

They kept the chatter to a minimum, with only frontman Matty Healy occasionally introducing the songs, but there was some hilarity; after he’d thanked the crowd and said he hoped everyone was enjoying themselves, a girl in the audience blurted out “I LOVE YOU!”

They sounded pretty great and Healy is a natural entertainer, but they didn’t overdo it. They’re effortlessly cool on stage and had a good portion of the crowd moving with their funky, chorus-drenched guitar licks and pounding rhythms.

What was the highlight of the set?

‘Chocolate’ and ‘The City’ both sounded equally massive, with ‘M.O.N.E.Y.’ being another standout moment, but ‘She Way Out’ really got the crowd shifting and probably just about edges it as the set’s highlight.

Where can I catch them next?

They’ll be at the Isle of Wight festival this weekend as well as at Glastonbury, but they’ve got a packed summer of festivals all around Europe over the next weeks that will take them toPoland, Germany, The Netherlands and Norway, among many others.